Combined spotting board and spotting gun incorporating novel spotting method

ABSTRACT

A SPOTTING GUN INCLUDING A SELECTIVELY CONTROLLED CHAMBER ADAPTED TO RECEIVE QUANTITIES OF FLUID AND AIR UNDER PRESSURE WHEREIN THE SAME IS MIXED AND DISCHARGED IN ATOMIZED CONDITION AGAINST A SPOT OR STAIN FOR REMOVING THE SAME FROM A PIECE OF FABRIC.

N v- 16, 1971 w. M. HARRIS ETAL COMBlNED SPO TTINJ BOARD AND SPOTTINUGUN INCORPORATING NOVEL SPOT'IING METHOD 5 Sheets-Sheet J.

Original Filed April 19, 1963 Will/hm M. Harris Jul/an Reese WW 19m w.M. HARRIS ETAL 3,619,830 COMBINED SPOTTING BOARD AND SPOTTING GUN Nov.16, 1971 INCORPORATING NOVEL SPOTTING METHOD Original Filed April 19,1963 5 Sheets-Sheet 73 um 3w m& .3.

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William M. Harris Julian Reese INVIL'N'I'ORS m QM WW 3m Nov. 16, 1971 w.M. HARRIS ETAL 3,619,830 COMBINED SPO TTING BOARD AND SPOTTING GUNINCORPORATING NOVEL SPOTTING METHOD Original Filed April 19, 1963 5Sheets-Sheet 5 f w m s m m W0 A m w W. E 6 M8 R mm wmm M W J M i Nov.16, 1971 w. M. HARRIS ETAL 3,619,830 COMBINED SPOTTING BOARD ANDSPOTTING GUN INCORPORATING NOVEL SPOTTING METHOD Original Filed April19, 1963 5 Sheets-Sheet 4.

Fig. 7

Will/hm M. Harris Julian Reese 1971 w. M. HARRIS ETAL 3,619,330

COMBINED SPOTTING BOARD AND SPOTTING GUN INCORPORATING NOVEL SPOTTINGMETHOD Original Filed April 19, 1963 5 Sheets-Sheet h 378 see 398 374 4/428 396 380 see 572 40a 4/4 427 442 440 e4 436 394 Q i :r"3.;': |f 3 O 1a 3 L 7' 4/6 WIY/I'am M Harris Jul/an Reese Fig. /3

WWW/115m United States Patent 3,619,830 COMBINED SPOTIING BOARD ANDSPOTTING GUN INCORPORATING NOVEL SPOTTING METHOD William M. Harris andJulian Reese, Spartanburg, S.C., assignors to Spotting Equipment Co.,Inc., Spartanburg,

Continuation of application Ser. No. 781,6 49, Sept. 9, 1968, which is acontinuation of application Ser. No. 274,104, Apr. 19, 1963. Thisapplication Mar. 25, 1970,

Ser. No. 20,474

Int. Cl. B05b 7/04 U.S. Cl. 8149.1 7 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE Aspotting gun including a selectively controlled chamber adapted toreceive quantities of fluid and air under pressure wherein the same ismixed and discharged in atomized condition against a spot or stain forremoving the same from a piece of fabric.

This is a continuation of application Ser. No. 781,649, filed Sept. 9,1968, and now abandoned, which is in turn a continuation of Ser. No.274,104, filed Apr. 19, 1963 and now abandoned.

The present invention generally relates to a supporting table for use inthe inspection and spot cleaning of textiles and includes a novelspotting board and a novel spotting gun together with a novel procedurein spotting textiles or garments either with a vacuum or without avacuum.

Very often, during the manufacture of fabrics, dirt, grease or the likesometimes accidentally is transferred to the fabric. Inasmuch as dirt orgrease spots are commercially objectionable, the fabric is normallyinspected prior to its sale or use. Also, in the manufacture of dressesand other garments, spots quite often are left on the dresses which arediscovered during the normal final inspection. Since these spots areobjectionable, the dresses are usually completely cleaned which not onlyis costly but also is somewhat objectionable since the cleaningoperation reduces to some extent the desirability of the garment in thatthe appearance is slightly affected and the feel of the fabric also isadversely affected. The spotting gun of the present invention may beplaced directly at the final inspection station for purposes of use whena spot is discovered on a garment so that the spot may be quite readilyand quickly removed and thereby eliminating any delay in delivery of thegarment such as would be encountered when it is necessary to dry cleanthe complete garment. The spotting gun may be employed with a vacuummanifold assembly that can have any desirable shape or configuration tofacilitate placement of the garment thereover and also the vacuummanifold may be swivelly mounted so that it can be pivoted to anout-ofthe-way position in relation to the inspection table when thespotting equipment is not employed. Of course, the spotting gun may beemployed without the vacuum manifold since the air will actually pick-upthe cleaning solution and the dirt or soil and carry it on through thefabric and out the other side whereby some absorbent backing may beemployed for absorbing the cleaning solution and the soil therebyeliminating any residual soil spot or ring in the garment.

Thus, the improved spotting method may be employed with the spottingtable or a spotting board of any suitable shape or size.

One practical application of the spotting table has been inmanufacturing plants such as knitting mills or the like where thespotting table has peculiar advantages in the inspection and spotting offabric that is normally wound into rolls by the knitting machinery.

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Accordingly, it is one object of the present invention to provide anovel combined inspection table and spotting board over which the fabricis moved so that the fabric may not only be inspected for dirt spots,grease spots, imperfections or the like but also the dirt spots orgrease spots may be rapidly and quickly removed in an expeditious mannerand in such a novel manner that no spot or ring is left after thecleaning operation has been carried out.

In carrying out an important object of the present invention, thespotting board includes an area of reticulated material disposed in atable top surface together with a trough-like adapter underlying thereticulated area and communicated with a vacuum producing mechanismwhereby the cleaning solution or solvent together with the dirt orgrease will be drawn downwardly through the fabric after application ofthe cleaning solvent onto the soiled spot on the fabric thereby quicklyand easily removing the soiled spot and also removing the cleaningsolvent thus eliminating the formation of a cleaning ring or the likesuch as occurs when a cleaning solution is placed onto the dirt orgrease spot and the dirt or grease is merely spread over a larger area.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide a spottingboard combined with an inspection table having novel means thereon forsupporting a supply roll of fabric and supporting a take-up roll both ofwhich are driven in a particular manner from a single prime mover suchas an electric motor. This assembly enables the movement of the fabricto be reversed and at all times retained in a wrinkle-free conditionwith both the supply roll and take-up roll being driven in such a mannerthat the fabric is not stretched which would cause the edges thereof topull inwardly.

Still another feature of the present invention is to provide a spottingboard and inspection table which is simple in construction, easy toinstall, easy to operate, effective for the purposes of cleaning andinspecting the fabric, dependable and long-lasting and relativelyinexpensive to manufacture and maintain.

These together with other objects and advantages which will becomesubsequently apparent reside in the details of construction andoperation as more fully hereinafter described and claimed, referencebeing had to the accompanying drawings forming a part hereof, whereinlike numerals refer to like parts throughout, and in which:

FIG. 1 is a front elevational view of the spotting board and inspectiontable of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a side elevational view of the construction of FIG. 1illustrating the orientation of the components of the invention;

FIG. 3 is a vertical, sectional view taken substantially upon a planepassing along section line 33 of FIG. 1 illustrating the structuralarrangement of the components of the invention;

FIG. 4 is a detailed top plan sectional view taken substantially upon aplane passing along section line 44 of FIG. 3 illustrating the bafiieconstruction employed in the vacuum trough;

FIG. 5 is a detailed sectional view taken substantially upon a planepassing along section line 5-5 of FIG. 1 illustrating further structuraldetails of the drive mechamsm;

FIG. 6 is a top plan sectional view taken substantially upon a planepassing along section line 6-6 of FIG. 5 illustrating further structuraldetails of the drive mechamsm;

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a spotting board and spotting gunassembly such as would be employed adjacent an inspection table forgarments;

FIG. 8 is a side elevational view of the spotting gun of the presentinvention;

FIG. 9 is an enlarged view of the discharge end of the spotting gun;

FIG. 10 is a longitudinal sectional view, taken substantially upon aplane passing along section line 10-10 of FIG. 9 illustrating thedetails of construction of the FIG. 11 is a transverse, sectional viewtaken substantially upon a plane passing along section line 1111 of FIG.10 illustrating further structural details of the FIG. 12 is aperspective end view of the spotting gun with the barrel removed; and

FIG. 13 is a perspective view of the barrel that is detachably connectedto the gun.

Referring now specifically to the drawings, the numeral 10 generallydesignates the spotting board of the present invention which includes asupporting member 12 generally in the form of a table top which inclinesfrom the front thereof as illustrated in FIG. 1 towards the rear andupwardly to provide a flat but upwardly inclined supporting surface forfabric or textile 14 to be inspected and cleaned when necessary. Thesupport member 12 is supported by four vertically disposed corner legs16 of any convenient construction such as angle iron members. The upperends of the end legs 16 are interconnected by side members 18 alsopreferably of angle iron construction. Interconnecting the upper ends ofthe front legs 18 is a longitudinal angle iron member 20 andinterconnecting the upper ends of the rear legs 16 is a longitudinalangle iron member 22. Intermediate the vertical height of the rear legs16, there is provided a longitudinal angle iron member 24 rigidlyinterconnecting the legs and extending between the front and rear legsat each end of the supporting structure is a pair of angle iron members26 which join to the rear legs 16 in the same horizontal plane as theangle iron member 24 and which are joined at their front ends to thefront legs 16. Adjacent the bottom of the supporting structure, the rearlegs are interconnected by an angle iron member 28 and angle ironmembers 30 interconnect the rear legs and the front legs.Interconnecting the front legs 16 is a tubular brace member 32 in theform of a pipe or the like and the tubular member 32 has a plurality oflongitudinally spaced depending brackets 34 thereon which pivotallysupport an elongated foot pedal or treadle 36 which has a plurality offorwardly extending brackets 38 thereon pivotally connected to thedepending brackets 34 by a pivot pin 40. One of the brackets 38 iscontinuous and includes an elongated rearwardly extending operating rod42 which extends to the rear of the supporting structure and ispivotally connected to an upstanding operating rod 44 which extendsupwardly behind the operating structure.

The front edge of the supporting surface 12 is downturned as indicatedat 46 for providing a smooth surface and a roller 48 is disposedimmediately forwardly of the corner of the supporting surface 12 and theroller 48 includes axially extending spindles 50 journaled in brackets52 attached to the corner legs 16. The brackets 52 have an upwardlyopening notch 54 in the upper surface thereof for enabling the roller 48to be removed when desired.

Supported below and in spaced parallel relation to the roller 48 is asupply roller 56 having axially extending spindles 58. The supply roller56 receives a supply of the fabric 14 and the spindles 58 are rotatablyand removably supported by brackets generally designated by numeral Eachbracket includes an elongated member 62 pivotally attached to one of thehorizontal braces 26 by a pivot pin or bolt 64. An arcuate slot 66 isprovided therein for receiving an adjusting bolt 68 extendingtherethrough and extending through the front leg 16 thus adjusting theangular orientation of the bracket member 62. The upper edge of thebracket 62 is provided with a longitudinally extending shoulder 70 whichprojects inwardly thus forming a rolling support for the spindles 58.Adjacent the outer end of the shoulder 70 there is provided a notch orrecess 72 which rotatably journals the spindles 58 when they arepositioned therein. Thus, with this construction, the angularorientation of the shoulder 70 may be varied thus enabling the supplyroll of fabric 14 to roll down the inclined shoulder 70 towards a driveroller 74 journaled on bearing blocks 76 carried by the horizontalbraces 26. The roller 74 is provided with a covering 78 offrictionproducing material which is spirally wound on the roller andwhich will engage the fabric roll and rotate it in a direction oppositeto the direction of rotation of the roller 74. The roller 74 may be ofresilient material or it may be of metal material with the coating 78being of resilient character but provided with a sandpaper-like finishon the external surface thereof. One end of the drive roller 74 isdriven by virtue of an extending spindle 80 driven by a sprocket chain82 encircling a sprocket gear 84 received in a protective housing 86.

Supported on upstanding side plates or brackets 88 is a take-up roll 90for receiving the fabric 14. The fabric 14 and the take-up roll 90 aredriven by a drive roller 92 identical in construction to the driveroller 74. The roller 90 includes axial spindles 94 rotatably andmovably received in vertically extending slots 96 in the brackets 88thereby enabling the spindles 94 to move upwardly as the diameter of thetake-up roll 90 increases and also enabling the take-up roll to beremoved after all of the fabric 14 has been wound thereon. The externalsurface of the take-up roll 92 is provided with a coating 94 similar tothe coating 78 described in conjunction with the roller 74. Both thespindles 94 and 58 may be provided with abutments 98 to prevent axialshifting of the respective rollers.

At the juncture between the brackets 98 and the table top surface 12,there is provided an idler roller 100 under which the fabric 14 passes.The idler roller 100 is provided with spindles 102 received in inclinednotches 104 formed in the forward edges of the brackets for removablyreceiving the roller 100 which serves to retain the fabric 14 inadjacent parallelism to the table top surface 12 but which will beeasily removable when desired and which will somewhat gage the tautnessof the fabric and prevent it from being pulled too tightly. The upperend of the bracket 82 is provided with a notch 106 for temporarilyholding the take-up roll 90 and also, the roller 100 is provided withabutments 108 similar to the abutments 98.

The roller 92 is mounted on a shaft 110 extending through suitablebearings 112 in the bracket plates 88 with one end of the shaft 100being connected with a sprocket gear 114 driven from a sprocket chain116. Both the sprocket chain 82 and sprocket chain 116 are driven fromsprocket gears 118 on the output shaft of a power assembly. The outputshaft 120 is connected to an upper spur gear 122 in meshing engagementwith a lower spur gear 124 which is supported by a shaft 126 having adrive pulley 128 mounted thereon. The sprocket gears 122 and 124 andtheir respective shafts are supported between plates 130 attached to alower brace member 30 and a supporting bracket 132 thereon. This willassure that a positive drive is provided for the sprocket gears 118 andthat the sprocket chains 116 and 82 will be driven at the same speed.Inasmuch as the drive rollers 74 and 92 are of the same construction andare rotated at the same speed, the peripheral speed of the surface ofthe rollers will be identical thereby assuring that the same quantity offabric will be wound on the take-up roll as will be wound off of thesupply roll.

Referring now specifically to FIG. 6, the drive assembly is illustratedas including an electric motor 134 of the reversible type mounted on asuitable supporting plate 136. The drive motor has an output pulley 138engaged with an encircling V-belt 140. The V-belt 140 encircles a largepulley 142 carried by a supporting shaft 144 supported by bearing blocks146. Disposed on the shaft 144 between the bearing blocks 146 is a smallpulley 148 having a V-belt 150 encircling the same with the V-belt 150also encircling a larger pulley 152 carried by an idler shaft 154supported on bearing blocks 156. The end of the shaft 154 opposite fromthe end having the pulley 152 mounted thereon is provided with a pulley158 receiving a V-belt 160. The V-belt 160 is received over one portionof a variable speed pulley 162 and the other portion of the variablespeed pulley is designated by numeral 164 and receives a V-belt 168. TheV-belt 168 encircles a pulley 170 mounted on a shaft 172 carried bybearing blocks 174. The outer end of the shaft 172 is provided with apulley 176 receiving a V-belt 178 which encircles the pulley 128 on thebottom input shaft 126 for driving the bottom spur gear 124 and, ofcourse, a correspondingly driving the upper spur gear 122 which in turndrives the output shaft 120 and the sprockets 118 thereon.

The variable speed pulley assemblies are journaled on a shaft 180 whichis supported by a pair of offset links 182 attached to a shaft 184 thatis carried by the base plate 136 by brackets 186. One end of the shaft184 is provided with an offset arm 188 to which an operating link 190 isattached. The operating link 190 is connected with a handle structure192 whereby movement of the handle structure will cause the output speedof the machine to vary. The handle structure includes an operatinghandle 194 extending upwardly alongside of the supporting structure forcontrolling the speed of the drive rollers by varying the relativediameters of the variable speed pulleys by shifting the position of therotational axis 180 thereof thus correspondingly increasing anddecreasing the diameters of the pulleys 162 and 164 for varying therelative speeds of the V-belts 160 and 168 in an obvious manner.

Adjacent the forward end of the supporting surface 12, there is providedan elongated opening 196 having a transparent panel 198 therein whichmay be either glass, plastic or the like. Disposed under the panel 198is a fluorescent lighting fixture 200 having the usual elongatedfluorescent tube or tubes 202. A suitable reflector and supportstructure of generally U-shaped trough-like configuration 204 isprovided for supporting the fluorescent fixture 200 from theundersurface of the table top surface 12. The fluorescent fixture andthe reflector 204 may be supported in any suitable manner. For exampleone edge of the fluorescent reflector trough 204 may be supported fromthe longitudinal angle iron member and a similar longitudinal angle ironmember 206 may be provided for supporting the rear edge of the trough204. Thus, as the cloth or fabric 14 passes over the transparent panel198 which is illuminated by the elongated bulb or bulbs 202, any greasespots, dirt or other imperfections or foreign material will be easilyobserved by an operator.

Disposed rearwardly of the angle iron member 206 is a vacuum trough 208supported from the angle iron member 206 and from a similar longitudinalangle iron member 210 spaced therefrom. Forming a closure for thetrough-like vacuum channel 208 is a perforated screen member 212 such asa reticulated or foraminous stainless steel panel or the like. This willenable air to pass downwardly through the screen-like panel 212 into thevacuum trough 208 which has a depending tube 214 connected therewithtogether with a suitable hose 216 connected thereto by a clamp 218. Thehose 216 extends to a source of vacuum such as a conventional industrialvacuum machine or vacuum cleaner which induces a vacuum in the trough208 and pulls the air down through the perforated screen 212. Thus, whenany cleaning solvent is applied to the fabric, the cleaning fluid alongwith the soil entrained therein will be drawn downwardly through theperforated screen 212 thus completely cleaning the fabric 14 andeliminating any dirt ring or soil ring therein.

Disposed within the trough-like member 208 is an inverted V-shapedbaflle 220 extending throughout the length thereof. The batfle 220 has aplurality of apertures or holes 222 formed therein and as illustrated inFIG. 4, the apertures adjacent the center of the baflle 220 are smallerthan the apertures at the outer ends thereof. The gradient between thesizes of the apertures is provided for providing an even vacuumthroughout the entire area of the screen 212. In other words, with thebaflle arranged in the manner illustrated and with the holes orientatedin the manner illustrated, the vacuum induced by connection of the hose216 to a suitable vacuum cleaner will be evenly distributed throughoutthe entire area of the reticulated or screen member.

One rear corner of the supporting frame is provided with a generallyL-shaped supporting rod 224 having a depending hook 226 on the free endthereof for sup-- porting a conductor or insulated wire assembly 228.The conductor assembly 22 8 has a control switch 230 on the terminal endthereof which hangs in overlying relation to the table surface therebyenabling an operator to readily and quickly start and stop motor 134.

Various control mechanisms are provided including a reversing switch 232for the reversible motor 134 to reverse movement of the fabric whendesired. A switch (not shown) is provided for controlling the vacuumcleaner and a switch 234 is provided for controlling the fluorescentinspection light and the speed of operation of the drive rollers may bevaried by varying the variable speed pulley assembly.

The supply roll 14 is loaded onto the machine by placing the spindles 58in the notches 72 carried by the brackets 60 so that the supply roll 14is freely rotatable. Thus, the fabric may be hand pulled upwardly andpassed over the idler roller 48 and then rearwardly over the supportingsurface, under the roller 100' and then around the take-up roller sothat at least one convolution of fabric is placed on the take-up roller90. The supply roll 14 is then moved inwardly so that the spindles 58rest on the inclined shoulders 70 and due to gravity, the supply roll 14is adjacent the outer end of the brackets 60. The fabric from the supplyroll is taken off at the front edge of the supply roll as illustrated inFIGS. 2 and 3 whereby the upward pull on the cloth or fabric will rollthe supply roll upwardly of the inclined surface of the shoulder 70 intoengagement with the supply roll drive roller. The upward pull on thecloth is produced by the fact that the take-up roll drive roller isoperating by virtue of the hand switch 230 being closed and of course,the reverse switch 232 being in the proper position. As soon as thesupply roll engages the drive roller 74, the drive roller will causerotation of the supply roll whereby the peripheral speed of feeding ofthe supply roll will be the same as the peripheral speed of the take-upof the take-up roll so that no excessive tension is provided in thefabric which would cause the fabric to pull inwardly from the side edgesthus reducing the width and causing the fabric to be rejected since itdoes not conform to the standard width desired.

When the movement of the fabric is reversed by reversing the directionof the electric motor 134, the supply roll will kick away from the driveroller 74 due to the action of gravity and also due to the initialrotational movement of the supply roll while it is still engagedtemporarily with the drive roller 74 therefor.

As indicated before, the notch is used when loading the machine or if itis desired to merely transfer fabric from one roll to another withoutinspecting it, the supply roll can be placed in the notches. Inasmuch asthe supply roll will be in a position to be engaged by the knees of anoperator, very little exertion is required in engaging either a singleknee or both knees with the supply roll and forcing it inwardly so thatthe spindles are moved inwardly out of the notches in the brackets 60onto the shoulders 70. Of course, with the supply roll beingsubstantially filled with fabric, the supply roll cannot move inwardlyto a degree that would enable the angulation thereof to cause one of thespindles to drop off of the shoulder '70.

As illustrated, the orientation of the drive roller 74 in relation tothe supply roll is critical inasmuch as the angle of attack orengagement between the drive roll and the supply roll eliminates slackand tensioning. Tensioning reduces the width of the fabric while slackquite often gets on the floor, becomes dirty and sometimes will doubleback and become tangled. Thus, this particular arrangement with therotational axis of the drive roller slightly above the rotational axisof the supply roll is necessary for proper operation of the supply rollduring discharge of the fabric therefrom.

It is pointed out that the inspection table of the present invention isuseful in inspecting fabric without the use of the vacuum troughinasmuch as the orientation of the lights enables inspections for holes,imperfections and the like. The vacuum system also will remove any dustwhich may be in the fabric but the primary purpose for the vacuum is foruse in combination with a spotting gun, the details of which areillustrated in FIGS. 8-13 of the drawings. The spotting gun may besupported in any suitable manner such as on the hook 226 or preferablyalongside of the frame at a desired position so that the hoses whichextend from the air supply and cleaning solution supply do not becomeexcessively worn or entangled. The foot pedal 36 operates the air supplyby controlling a solenoid valve switch that is actuated by the operatingrod or link 44 as illustrated in FIG. 5.

Referring now specifically to FIG. 7, the spotting gun is generallydesignated by numeral 240' and a cleaning solution hose 242 extends fromthe spotting gun 240 into a pressure tank 244 containing cleaningsolution and which is pressurized by air. The air is supplied to thepressure tank 244 through an inlet fitting 246 and, of course, asuitable regulating valve may be provided for maintaining the pressurewithin the tank at a desired level. A pressure gage 248 is provided forindicating the pressure within the cleaning solution supply tank 24 anda removable closure 250 and retainer 252 therefor is provided forenabling replenishment of the supply of cleaning solution. The hose 242is of any suitable type, preferably constructed of nylon provided with areinforced fiber cover or the like.

The spotting gun 240 is also provided with an air supply hose 254 which,in the form of the invention illustrated in FIGS. 1-6, is communicatedwith a suitable source of air pressure through the solenoid valveassembly which is controlled by the switch actuated by the foot pedal 36whereby actuation of the foot pedal 36 will cause discharge of air fromthe spotting gun which is uncontrolled at the gun itself. Thus, the onlycontrol for the air is the foot pedal 36 and, of course, the spottinggun is hand held and thumb pressure may be exerted for controlling thedischarge of the cleaning solution in a manner described in detailhereinafter in conjunction with the structure illustrated in FIGS. 8-13.

Referring further to FIG. 7, the air supply hose 254 extends into avalve housing 256 mounted on top of a tubular housing or casing 258having an air inlet fitting 260 extending thereinto adjacent the top butspaced from the top thereof. The air inlet 260 is connected to asuitable source of pressurized air. The tubular housing or casing 258forms a buffer tank so that the air pressure will be substantiallyconstant when delivered through the hose 254 even though the valve maybe opened and closed a number of times. The valve assembly is ofconventional construction and includes a stem 262 slidablyextendingthrough a guide plate 264 and engaged by a pivotal lever 266 for causingreciprocation of the stem 262. The lever 266 is pivoted to a bifurcatedbracket 268 and has an operating end 270 extending through a slotted orbifurcated upper end 272 of a generally U-shaped guide memher 274. Acompression coil spring 276 encircles the stem 262 and engages thetransverse guide member 264 and 8 also engages a washer or abutment 278at the upper end thereof for retaining the stem 262 to a closedposition. Inasmuch as the upper end of the stem 2'62 engages theundersurface of the lever or arm 266, the lever or arm 266 may bepivoted downwardly so that the stem 262 may be reciprocated.

The outer end of the lever 266, that is, the operating end 270, isprovided with an actuating rod 280 having a threaded upper end 282extending through the apertured and notched end of the lever 280 andretained in adjusted position by any suitable means such as a wing nut284 or the like. The lower end of the operating rod 280 is provided witha laterally extending lug 286 which is disposed in encircling relationto an elongated operating rod 288 that has an adjustable stop collar 298slidable thereon. The stop collar 298 is provided with a setscrew 292for adjusting the collar in relation to the rod 288. The lower end ofthe rod 288 is disposed in perpendicular relationship as indicated bynumeral 294 and extends through the apertured end of an operating arm296 attached to and movable with a foot pedal 298. The foot pedal 298 ispivotally supported by overlapping lugs 308 carried by the foot pedal298 and a base plate 302. A hinge rod 304 interconnects the lugs 300 forpivotally mounting the foot pedal 298 on the base plate 302. Suitableretaining elements such as cotter pins 306 or the like are provided forretaining the pivot rod 304 in position and also similar fasteningelements 308 are provided for retaining the lower end 294 of the rod 298attached to the arm 296.

The buffer tank or housing 258 is rigidly affixed to the base 302 suchas by welding 310 or the like and also, a vacuum tank 312 is mountedrigidly on the base 302 by similar welding 314 or the like and thevacuum tank 312 is provided with a lateral fitting 316 adjacent theupper end thereof for connection with a suitable vacuum supply such as avacuum pipe in an industrial plant or a suitable vacuum producingmechanism thereby enabling vacuum to be continuously induced in thevacum tank 312 in the same manner as air pressure is continuouslyprovided in the housing or air tank 258 and also continuously suppliedto the cleaning soiution pressure tank 244.

At the upper end of the vacuum tank .312 there is provided a valveassembly generally designated by numeral 318 and including an L-shapedfitting 320 having an operating stem 322 extending upwardly therefromfor engagement with an operating lever 324 that is pivotally supportedby a laterally extending bracket 326 attached to the fitting 320 andincluding a pivotal mounting pin 328 for pivotally interconnecting thelever 324- and the bracket 326 at a point intermediate the ends of thelever 324 whereby the pivotal movement of the lever 324 will result inreciprocation of the valve stem .322 inasmuch as the end of the lever324 is bifurcated as at 330 for engagement under an abutment washer 332on the upper end of the valve stem 322.

The end of the lever 324 remote from the valve stem 322 is provided witha laterally extending lug 334 which adjustably and slidably receives theoperating rod 288. A compression spring 336 is disposed around the rod288 above the lug 334 and an adjustable collar 338 engages the upper endof the spring 336 whereby depression of the pedal 298 will move both ofthe rods 280 and 288 downwardly for opening the air valve and alsoopening the vacuum valve for supplying air through the spotting gun andat the same time enabling the vacuum to be induced in a hollow adapteror fitting 340 which may be inserted into various parts of the garmentin a manner described hereinafter.

The adapter 340 is in the form of a hollow tubular member 342 havingclosed ends 344 and a perforated area 346 on the upper surface thereof.A depending internally threaded adapter or fitting 348 is provided onthe lower end of the tubular member 342 and is threadedly engaged with ashort vertical pipe section 350 whereby the tubular member 342 may beswivelled about the longitudinal axis of the pipe member 350 and thefitting 348. Pipe fittings 352 interconnect the vertical pipe 350 andthe valve fitting 318 thus communicating the vacuum in the tank 312 withthe interior of the tubular spotting board 342 when the valve stem 322is elevated thus causing air to move inwardly through the perforatedportion of the tubular member 342. The tubular member 342 mayconveniently be in the form of a stainless steel or other non-corrosiverigid member. For example, a stainless steel pipe may be flattened intosubstantially an oval-shaped cross-sectional configuration and the endsthereof closed and the apertures or perforations 346 formed therein. Theperforations 346 may be over a major portion of the tubular member 342or only over the end portion as illustrated in FIG. 7. Thus, with thespotting board 340 disposed above the level of an inspection table, itcan be swung into a position overlying the edge of the inspection tableso that a garment may be placed thereon and the spotting gun 240employed. Depressing the foot pedal 298 will turn on the air to thespotting gun and at the same time introduce vacuum into the tubularmember 342 for causing air to flow downwardly through the garment placedin overlying relation to the perforations 346.

Referring now specifically to FIGS. 8-13, the details of construction ofthe spotting gun is illustrated and this includes a handle 354 which ispreferably hollow and provided with end grommets 356 or the like wherebya readily grippable hand-operated gun is provided. The handle portion ofthis gun may be quite similar to that presently being employed inspotting guns. One end of the handle 354 is provided with a longitudinalrigid tube 358 and a similar rigid tube 360 which are connected to thecleaning solution hose 242 and the air hose 254 respectively. At theopposite end of the handle 354, there is provided a rigid tube 362 forthe cleaning solution and a rigid tube 364 for the air both of whichextend generally parallel to each other. The tube 362 has an arcuatestop member 366 rigidly attached thereto for engagement with the innerend of an adjustable stop screw 368 carried by a thumb-operated handle370 which operates a valve stem 372 reciprocally mounted in a tubularhousing 374. The valve body 374 is provided with a threaded end portion376 having a knurled retaining cap 378 thereon. The retaining capincludes an internal flange 380 which is received within a groove 382formed in a guide member 384. One side of the groove 382 is defined by aperipheral flange 386 which holds the guide member 384 downwardlyagainst a shoulder 388 formed in the valve body 374 and an O-ring seal390 is provided between the shoulder and the inner end of the guide 384thereby sealing the guide in relation to the valve body but enablingremoval of the guide and the valve stem 372 mounted therein when the cap378 is unscrewed. The outer end of the guide 384 is provided with aknurled closure cap 392 engaging one end of a coil compression spring394 which has the other end thereof engaging an enlarged head or upperend 396 on the valve stem 372 which also has a clamping nut 398 thereonengaging the seal 390 which preferably is in the form of a diaphragm forsealing the valve stem so that the pressurized cleaning solvent orsolution in the internal bore 400 of the valve body 374 will not leakpast the valve stem into the guide 384 since the guide 384 is providedwith a notch 402 which receives the inner end of the operating handle370. The operating handle 370 is provided with a pivot pin 404 whichpivotally mounts the operating handle to the guide and the inner end ofthe handle 370 is bifurcated for receiving the stem 372 and engagingunder the head 396 for enabling reciprocation of the valve stem 372 inrelation to the valve housing 374.

The rigid tubular member 362 communicates with the longitudinalpassageway 400 by virtue of a passageway 406 extending radially into theinterior of the body 374 for communication with the passageway 400.Also, the valve body 374 includes a threaded end portion 408 fordetachably receiving a barrel member 410 which is internally threaded atthe inner end thereof as designated by numeral 412 for threadedengagement with the threaded end 408 of the body 374. The barrel 410includes a longitudinal bore 414 having a concentrically arrangedtubular member 416 rigidly attached to the barrel 410 at the inner endthereof by a valve seat 418 for engagement by a resilient sealing member420 on the end of the stern 372. The sealing member 420 engages thevalve seat defined by the partition 418 and the tubular member 416 tonormally seal this small passageway designated by numeral 422. Further,a sealing ring 424 is provided between the end of the threaded endportion 408 and the shoulder defined by the partition 418 for forming aneffective seal for the barrel 410 whereby the pressurized cleaningsolution will be discharged from the outer end of the tube or nozzle 416into the larger passageway 414 when the valve stem 372 is retracted whenthe actuating handle 370 is depressed by the thumb.

Also, the housing 374 is provided with a tubular extension 426 whichsurrounds the barrel 410 and provides an annular space therebetween asdesignated by numeral 428. The air tube 364 communicates with the space428 and the barrel 410 is provided with a plurality of radial apertures430 extending inwardly into the passageway 414 thus introducingpressured air into the passageway 414 at a point spaced inwardly fromthe discharge end of the tube 416 or nozzle 416. Thus, as the air passesdownwardly through the passage 414, it will pick up and entrain thecleaning solution and will also form more or less of an air curtain overthe cleaning solution. In fact, the passageway 414 enlarges slightly atthe terminal end thereof as designated by numeral 432 and is providedwith a threaded terminal end portion 434. A discharge nozzle 436 isattached to the end of the barrel 410 by virtue of a flanged retainingcap 438 which is knurled and which has an internal flange 440 engagingan external flange 442 on the nozzle 436. A sealing gasket 444 isprovided between the flange 442 and the terminal end of the barrel 410and the cap 438 is knurled for ease of removal thereof.

A knurled nut 4 27 is provided for closing the end of the extension orsleeve 426 and serves not only as a closure but a lock nut for retainingthe barrel in place. The discharge end of the nozzle 436 is flattened asat 446 for the purpose of providing a slot-like discharge orifice 448which serves the purpose of concentrating the discharge for the purposeof more effectively removing certain types of spots such as mineral oil,silicon base oil and greases. It is pointed out that the specific shapeof the discharge nozzle may vary depending upon the type of spots to beremoved and the desired results.

With this gun, the cleaning solution generally referred to in the tradeas Perc is mixed with the air in the gun and discharged as a finelyatomized pressurized cleaning solution which will effectively remove anyspots and at the same time, the air will cause the soil to be dischargedfrom the inner side of the garment or fabric. This basic process ofmixing the air and cleaning solution while under pressure may be usedalong or combined with the vacuum system illustrated either in FIG. 7 orin FIGS. 1-6 whereby the vacuum induced under the garment or fabric willassure that the soil and the cleaning solution both will be removed fromthe garment thereby eliminating any possibility of a soil ring beingformed thereon. This is in clear distinction to conventional procedurewherein air and water are used with the discharge point of the air beingspaced away from the discharge point of the cleaning water or solutionthereby requiring subsequent treatment by the water or cleaning solutionand then the air for, in effect, actually drying the cleaning solutionwhich will leave a soil ring on the fabric or garment.

Heretofore, the cleaning solution known as Perc has not been employed ina spotting gun of this nature since its use has been limited to acleaning machine. Thus, it is an essential feature of this invention tocombine the Perc solution and air and discharge it as a mixedpressurized and atomized cleaning solution while under pressure. Also, acurtain of air may be discharged from the barrel by leaving longitudinalopenings in the end of the barrel communicating with the annular spacebetween the barrel and the tubular extension or shroud which surroundsthe barrel in concentric relation thereto. This Will dischargelongitudinally a tubular curtain of air which will tend to preventlateral dispersal of the mixed air and cleaning solution.

The foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles ofthe invention. Further, since numerous modifications and changes willreadily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limitthe invention to the exact construction and operation shown anddescribed, and accordingly all suitable modifications and equivalentsmay be resorted to, falling within the scope of the invention asclaimed.

We claim:

1. In a cleaning system for textile fabrics and the like having aspotting gun including, a handle, and a flexible fluid pressure linecommunicating with a source of air and the like under pressure, theimprovement comprising: nozzle means including a mixing chamber carriedby the handle; a source of liquid cleaning fluid under pressure; aflexible cleaning fluid pressure line communicating between said mixingchamber and said source of liquid cleaning fluid under pressure; amanually operable valve means for selectively opening and closing themixing chamber to access to said liquid cleaning fluid; said flexiblefluid pressure line communicating with said mixing chamber and havingvalve means for opening and closing the mixing chamber to access to saidair under pressure; said mixing chamber having at least one openingthrough which said air under pressure is introduced therein, at leastone said opening being disposed at an angle with respect to said chamberto permit mixing of said air and said cleaning fluid in said chamber,and means defining a restricted discharge orifice communicating withsaid mixing chamber through which said mixed liquid cleaning fluid andair under pressure may be discharged and directed to fabric to becleaned; whereby the liquid cleaning fluid is finely atomized in theair, both being under pressure within the mixing chamber, and directedto a soil spot on a fabric so as to cause the cleaning fluid to passthrough the fabric carrying the soil without leaving a ring on thefabric.

2. The structure set forth in claim 1, wherein said fluid pressure lineand said cleaning fluid pressure line pass through said handle, saidfluid pressure line being fixed with respect to said noule means forintroducing air into said mixing chamber intermediate its ends, saidmanually operable valve means including a thumb actuating member at oneend of the nozzle means, a needle discharge orifice opened and closedresponsive to movement of said thumb actuating member for controllingthe admission of liquid cleaning fluid under pressure into the mixingchamber, said discharge orifice being positioned at the other end of thenozzle means, and said nozzle means defining a discharge orificedefining an elongated slot-like discharge opening.

3. The structure set forth in claim 2, wherein said nozzle meansincludes a barrel, and a tubular extension spaced concentrically fromsaid barrel to define an annular space therebetween, the source of airunder pressure communicating with the annular space from whence air isintroduced under pressure into the extension, and said needle dischargeorifice introducing liquid cleaning fluid under pressure into saidextension, whereby a 1ongitudinal tubular curtain of air tends toprevent lateral dispersion of the mixed air and cleaning solutionsurrounded thereby.

4. The structure as set forth in claim 2, including a spotting board forreceiving the fabric when said finely atomized liquid cleaning fluid andair under pressure is directed thereto.

5. The structure as set forth in claim 2, including an inspection tableover which the fabric is passed prior to directing said finely atomizedliquid cleaning fluid and air under pressure thereto for locating soilspots.

6. In a process for spot cleaning a fabric orientated to allow atomizedfluid to pass freely therethrough by the discharge of atomized fluidfrom the nozzle of a spray gun, the improvement comprising minimizingthe formation of a residual soil ring on the fabric after discharge ofthe atomized fluid by providing a gun having a mixing chamber with atleast one opening disposed at an angle therewithin, fluid conductinglines leading to said chamber, valve means for each of said lines and arestricted dispensing nozzle in communication with the chamber,introducing cleaning fluid under pressure through one of said lines intosaid chamber by actuation of said valve means, introducing air underpressure through another of said lines into said at least one opening byactuation of said valve means whereby the air and cleaning fluid aremixed in said chamber with the air forming more or less of an aircurtain over the cleaning fluid, conducting said pressurized mixturefrom said mixing chamber to said dispensing nozzle, discharging saidmixture from said nozzle whereby the fluid becomes atomized, anddirecting said discharged atomized fluid against the spot to be cleaned.

7. The process of claim 6 further including the step of providing anadditional peripheral curtain of air about the mixture from said airunder pressure for confining the same upon its discharge from thenozzle.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,284,572 5/ 1942 Holder 68-2402,619,821 12/1952 Fink 68240 X 2,804,343 8/1957 Friedell 239-398 X2,967,670 1/ 1961 McRoberts 68240 X WILLIAM I. PRICE, Primary ExaminerP. R. COE, Assistant Examiner U.S. Cl. X.R.

